The Criterion Collection

[Fat Phil]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Anyone know if more Haneke is coming? I would love Caché and Funny Games.

Wow. I'm genuinely shocked Caché doesn't have a Region A release yet. That is crazyballs. I have the UK release and I always just assumed it was already available in North America. I'm sure Criterion will get to it but damn, that wait is brutal.

[Cremildo]

I'd be down for Time of the Wolf on Blu-ray.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by mja345

I've always wondered if it was a coincidence or something else that led to Spader's film career going downhill a bit after "Crash". It's a brilliant film, but I wonder if there was hesitance to cast the guy from the "getting horned up by car wrecks" movie. There are very few actors with Spader's versatility. He played nice guys ("True Colors", "Bad Influence", "White Palace", "Dream Lover", "Critical Care"), yuppie scumbags ("Pretty in Pink", "Less than Zero", "Wolf"), down on their luck losers ("The Music of Chance"), psychopaths ("Two Days in the Valley", "The New Kids"), and men with taboo sexual fetishes ("Crash", "Secretary", "sex, lies, and videotape"). And he was incredibly effective in all of those roles. Great actor.

He has refreshingly honest quotes on the IMDb, the gyst of it is that he just works when he needs money. It looks like "Crash" (which he speaks highly of) was the first film he made after two years off following "Wolf" and "Stargate" (which were probably the biggest movies he'd done, so he had the money to not work for a while). I think he didn't exactly strike while the iron was hot, so he doesn't get the A-list first pick roles, but he also seems really happy with his career.

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by Poya

NotLD is in this week’s top 10 selling BDs! Is this the first time a Criterion release managed to do this?

Oh wow, this is great news.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Also, the discussion on Ordinary People makes me happy. Any chance to get more word out about that film so that it can see the Blu-ray release it deserves, preferably from Criterion with a fresh remaster. I've been meaning to email them suggesting it as a release. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do. It's one of the most moving films I've ever seen.

I've tweeted/e-mailed Criterion several times about releasing Ordinary People. Maybe if we could get some more people to express interest in it, they'd green light it.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

He has refreshingly honest quotes on the IMDb, the gyst of it is that he just works when he needs money. It looks like "Crash" (which he speaks highly of) was the first film he made after two years off following "Wolf" and "Stargate" (which were probably the biggest movies he'd done, so he had the money to not work for a while). I think he didn't exactly strike while the iron was hot, so he doesn't get the A-list first pick roles, but he also seems really happy with his career.

He should be. The guy's one of the best actors of the past 25-30 years IMO. "The Music of Chance" is one of the best unknown films of recent memory and never even had an American DVD release. There's a pretty bad UK DVD that I have. I really wish that film would get a BD release so more people could discover it. It's fantastic as is the novel by Paul Auster.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

When/where did "Around the World in 80 Days" show up in HD? I thought it needed massive amounts of restoration, but honestly I haven't been keeping up on it, I wouldn't be surprised if it's out there by now.

I've had it in HDX streaming on Vudu for years, probably from a made-for-DVD HD master. It will definitely need a lot of work for a proper BD release, similar to what Fox did with Oklahoma! (IIRC also shot in side-by-side 30fps Todd-AO & regular 35mm, both restored for BD). But then I've long assumed it & Tom Jones were the two toughest remaining Best Pictures to restore (both early Eastmancolor OCNs kept in poor condition prior to the home video era), yet Criterion finally took on Tom Jones.

[Gerby]

Originally Posted by mja345

He should be. The guy's one of the best actors of the past 25-30 years IMO. "The Music of Chance" is one of the best unknown films of recent memory and never even had an American DVD release. There's a pretty bad UK DVD that I have. I really wish that film would get a BD release so more people could discover it. It's fantastic as is the novel by Paul Auster.

I watched this a few months ago because it is in your 10 most wanted on blu ray list & i had never heard of it either. I loved the hell out of it!

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Poya

NotLD is in this week’s top 10 selling BDs! Is this the first time a Criterion release managed to do this?

I think it has a chance to be the best selling release in the collection. In the very least it will sell 10,000+ copies or up to 10x what a typical release might sell.

My estimate of sales:

C: <3000 copies (The Secret of the Grain, White Material, The Makioka Sisters, etc)

B: >5000 <10,000 (12 Angry Men, On the Waterfront, The Red Shoes, The Seventh Seal, etc)

A: >10,000 (Seven Samurai, The Royal Tenenbaums, 8 1/2, etc)

[cropduster]

Originally Posted by mja345

He should be. The guy's one of the best actors of the past 25-30 years IMO. "The Music of Chance" is one of the best unknown films of recent memory and never even had an American DVD release. There's a pretty bad UK DVD that I have. I really wish that film would get a BD release so more people could discover it. It's fantastic as is the novel by Paul Auster.

I've been looking forward for the past few months to check out The Music of Chance ever since you and billy pilgrim were speaking highly about it. So of course my UK dvd order placed during the holidays had to get lost in the mail or was never shipped and the seller won't return my emails. Looks like I'll be getting a refund, placing another order, and praying it shows up cause this film is at the top of my list to watch asap.

Also completely agree about Spader. Not only one of the best American actors of the past 30+ years but also one of the most underrated.

[Thomas Irwin]

Originally Posted by mja345

He should be. The guy's one of the best actors of the past 25-30 years IMO. "The Music of Chance" is one of the best unknown films of recent memory and never even had an American DVD release. There's a pretty bad UK DVD that I have. I really wish that film would get a BD release so more people could discover it. It's fantastic as is the novel by Paul Auster.

I love that film. I only saw it once on PBS many years ago, but I never forgot it. I'd love to see it get a BD release as well.

[The Sovereign]

Originally Posted by mja345

He should be. The guy's one of the best actors of the past 25-30 years IMO. "The Music of Chance" is one of the best unknown films of recent memory and never even had an American DVD release. There's a pretty bad UK DVD that I have. I really wish that film would get a BD release so more people could discover it. It's fantastic as is the novel by Paul Auster.

I'd forgotten that one, but I did see it years ago - must have been VHS. I've read some other Paul Auster but not that one - I need to check it out.

btw, you talked me into Every Man for Himself. It had been on my radar, mostly because of Isabelle Huppert, but it always looked interesting. Amazon had it @ about $20, so I took the plunge.

[SammyJankis]

Hot damn, those Warner titles on Filmstruck. I'll have to put up with the awful interface and crashing, but I'll finally be watching An American in Paris.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by CinemaBlu

Why wouldn't it get its own release?

I'm actually hoping that Criterion is working on a Val Lewton box set. I haven't bought their release Of Cat People yet for that reason.

It's more obscure, not nearly as well known as the original. I figured any chance it had would be on the same disc as Cat People. Unless it comes from a different company or it's in a Lewton box set.

[trombone dixie]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Hot damn, those Warner titles on Filmstruck. I'll have to put up with the awful interface and crashing, but I'll finally be watching An American in Paris.

I was excited to see this news today.

[BagheeraMcGee]

Originally Posted by mja345

He should be. The guy's one of the best actors of the past 25-30 years IMO. "The Music of Chance" is one of the best unknown films of recent memory and never even had an American DVD release. There's a pretty bad UK DVD that I have. I really wish that film would get a BD release so more people could discover it. It's fantastic as is the novel by Paul Auster.

I remember really liking it when I rented it back in the early 90s, and I'm surprised it never got at least a DVD because it's an I.R.S. Films release, which were handled by Sony. I.R.S. also released One False Move (an excellent film) and Blood And Concrete: A Love Story (a warped and hilarious under-seen black comedy) which both received a DVD treatment from Sony, so who knows? Maybe The Music Of Chance will too (I would even get it if it were DVD-R).

In a perfect world, of course, they'd all be on Blu-ray.

[mja345]

Good to see some love for "The Music of Chance". It's an incredibly thought-provoking, haunting film. It's frustrating to see some real garbage get the royal treatment on BD and that film languishing in VHS-rip hell.

Another 90s Spader film I feel compelled to check out every year or two is "Two Days in the Valley". It's the best of the Tarantino knockoffs IMO, with an incredible cast that includes Spader, Danny Aiello, Jeff Daniels, Eric Stoltz, Glenne Headly, Marsha Mason, Paul Mazursky, Greg Cruttwell (Jeremy G. Smart in "Naked"), and Charlize Theron in her first role. Spader steals the show as a cold-blooded, psychotic hitman. Any well-versed film buff will be completely aware of how derivative it is, but it's very entertaining along the way.

[bwdowiak]

not likely that you'd miss it because it's on the first page, but a 4K restoration of Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice is coming in May.

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=22932

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

It's more obscure, not nearly as well known as the original. I figured any chance it had would be on the same disc as Cat People. Unless it comes from a different company or it's in a Lewton box set.

Maybe they'll put it (Curse of the Cat People) on a double feature with Godzilla's Revenge

[blankford]

Originally Posted by bsend

Dr. Strangelove is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Originally Posted by martinouchou

Yeah discovered it last month with my first Criterion purchase, this is definitely one of the best movies out there ! Can't wait to forget about it and watch it again in a year !

Just watched it yesterday and absolutely loved it.

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

I haven't seen Thief but you are in for a treat with the other films.

Originally Posted by Alex82

I don't know about Thief, but the other 4 are definitely classics, as far as blind buys go, this is rather safe.

Agree! Thief was a gamble haha. I loved Michael Mann though.